Bruges

Today I went to Bruges, a beautiful city near the Belgian Atlantic coast. I woke up a bit late (I still haven’t really adjusted to the CEST timezone), but I managed to get to Bruges by around 11 in the morning. I enjoy trains, and I got to take the train from Bruxeles-Midi through Ghent and on to Bruges.

I’d skipped breakfast, so by the time I arrived in the city centre, I was hungry and went to a restaurant called De Beurze. It was a cosy place, with a little fireplace that I sat next to. I had a nice steak with salad and fries, all while having a great view of the main square. I really enjoy the way that they do service in Europe. Nobody comes to bug you while you’re eating, but they are attentive and you can easily flag the wait staff down if you need anything. I don’t like that you have to pay for the water, though. But it gives me an excuse to order sparkling water since it’s the same price as still. Additionally, since the US Dollar is so strong against the Euro right now, the prices are also very reasonable. I think it was 1.08 USD to 1 EUR while I was there.

Belfort

After lunch, I went across the square to Belfort (the Belfry), which is a large bell tower. It’s at the centre and it has a great view of the town and the square below.

However, the most interesting part was the way that the bells were operated. There is a huge intricate “music box” type contraption which plays the bells. There is a large drum with pegs in it, and when it is rotated, it plays a sequence of 47 bells.

To get to the bells, you have to climb some very narrow and steep stairs all the way to the top, but it is well worth it for the views and being able to watch the bells in action.

Wandering

After the bell tower, I continued walking around the town. It is a very beautiful town and I really enjoyed just walking around the streets. I’m not sure if I’d like living there considering how touristy it is, but it was very beautiful.

After wandering around for a while I headed back to the train and returned to my hotel in Brussels.

I got some dinner at YouWok and then I went over to Grand Casino Brussels for a 60€ poker tournament. It was my first time ever doing a poker tournament, and it was quite fun. I did not do well, but I gained some valuable experience and I think that I will try a tournament again at some point! I re-bought into the tournament a couple times, but after the third bullet I decided to call it a night.